BRINKLEY, Ark. — Do you need help growing or expanding your business? Is your business looking for financial assistance, but you don’t know what your options are? Is your inner entrepreneur in need of some guidance? An upcoming event, co-hosted by the Arkansas Procurement Technical Assistance Center, likely has the answers you’re looking for.

FINDING THE WAY — Arkansas Business Navigator is the newest program from the Arkansas Small Business Technology and Development Center, a function of the federal Small Business Administration that works through land grant universities and other institutions. (Division of Agriculture graphic.)

Arkansas Business Navigator is the newest program from the Arkansas Small Business Technology and Development Center, a function of the federal Small Business Administration that works through land grant universities and other institutions.

The informational session will be held Jan. 26 at the Brinkley Chamber of Commerce, located at 217 W. Cypress St. in Brinkley. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the program will begin at 6 p.m. There is no cost to attend.

The program is focused on supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs across Arkansas with an emphasis on support for rural, women-owned, veteran-owned and minority-owned businesses. It’s a joint project of the Cooperative Extension Service’s APTAC, the Monroe and Phillips County extension offices, the Brinkley Chamber of Commerce and East Arkansas Enterprise Community.

Kamelle Gomez, economic development program associate for the Division of Agriculture, said the Cooperative Extension Service — the outreach arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture — is one of six partners supporting the program.

“We’re helping to provide no cost, one-on-one business consulting, business planning, market research, access to capital and industry-specific training,” Gomez said. “We want you to come learn how the Arkansas Business Navigator can help your business launch, grow, and plan for success.”

Interested individuals may contact Gomez at 501-671-2158 or kgomez@uada.edu.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.